The Florence Wight Guild from Memorial Hospital just brought us a check for $13,000 for the expansion campaign. They worked very hard staging their annual Field Day event to raise this. Thank you SO MUCH!

The Washington Dental Service Foundation has granted $166,000 to expand the children’s dental clinic at Children’s Village. We have recently solicited our dental community for matching funds, and are eagerly waiting for our local dentists to make their gifts in next week’s mail.

Ed Reinhart, a local community volunteer is raising money for Children’s Village by riding his bike. Ed is participating in the 30th Anniversary Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. This 200-mile bicycle ride is the largest multi-day bicycle event in the Northwest, with up to 10,000 participants riding from Seattle to Portland in one or two days. The route takes riders through the scenic valleys, forests, and farmlands of western Washington and Oregon.

In Ed’s words, “My goal in this whole process is to raise awareness in our community of what Children Village accomplishes every day. It’s an amazing place where miracles happen. Your financial support means they can continue to deliver the services to children with special needs and their families. Thank you for your support and I will cross the finish line on July 12th with each of you in my thoughts.”

To help support Ed achieve his bold goal of raising $7,500 for Children’s Village, visit his fundraising page here: www.memfound.org/ed .

What started as a simple employee competition turned into something much more. Advanced Life Systems of Yakima medics and staff come together for better health and a bigger cause – helping special health care needs children in the Yakima Valley. Their “Biggest Loser” contest consisted of 17 employees and raised $1,381 for Children’s Village Capital Campaign.

On Friday, June 5th at 9:00 a.m., Advanced Life Systems’ contest winner Brian Wakeman, and Woody Woodcock of Advanced Life Systems, will be presented a check to Children’s Village.

Advanced Life Systems’ “Biggest Loser” contest spanned a three month period, from Feb 15th to May 15th. The company matched the $20.00 employee buy-in of each employee and also donated $10.00 for each pound lost by each contestant – for total of $1,381 to be donated to Children’s Village.

Brian Wakeman, the contest winner, lost a total of 7.82% of body weight. “In our line of work, we assist children almost daily and wanted to do something that helped those with special needs,” says Brian.

“Advanced Life Systems is committed to our involvement in the community and Children’s Village is intricate part of our community,” says Woody Woodcock of Advanced Life Systems. “We wanted to help Children’s Village in the good work that they do – providing priceless services to children in our valley.”

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital will continue to offer the “Take Charge” diabetes self-management program with the support of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).The program is evaluated every three years to make sure it meets the rigid national education standards required by the ADA.The ADA announced earlier this month that Memorial will retain “Education Recognition” for the program.

“The standards are ever-changing,” says Peggy Steere, Director of Memorial’s “Take Charge” program.“We make continual efforts to improve our program and incorporate the latest information and clinical data to make sure our patients have the best resources available to learn how to best manage their disease.”

Deidre Dellinger was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 14.Now, after struggling with her disease for over 38 years, she finally feels like she has control over her disease and control over her life.

“This program teaches you how to live with diabetes in a very positive way,” says Dellinger.Anytime you are diagnosed with a disease, it is overwhelming.This program takes away that feeling of being overwhelmed and teaches you how to manage your illness and live a regular life.”

Dellinger says that through the Take Charge program, she worked with a nutritionist, learned how to deal with relationships around her disease, and was even able to get on an insulin pump to help her maintain her blood sugars, without daily injections.It was such a positive experience, she now volunteers with the Take Charge program.

“I love the title of this program,” says Dellinger.“Because it does allow you to take charge of your diabetes and take back control of your life.”

Memorial’s “Take Charge” program was initially recognized by the ADA in May of 1994.Since then hundreds of individuals throughout Central Washington have learned how to best manage their diabetes.

Diabetes Expo to Help Educate Hundreds

Yakima, WA –Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital is sponsoring the 2009 Diabetes Expo on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at the First Presbyterian Church in Yakima.The event is completely free, and will feature diabetes educators, dietitians, pharmacists, and other health professionals offering educational programs throughout the day for better diabetes management.Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak with representatives from pharmaceutical companies and diabetes product companies, and participate in raffles for various diabetes-related prizes.

What: The 2009 Diabetes Expo

Where: First Presbyterian Church in Yakima, Corner of Yakima and 8th Avenue

When: 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM

Some of the Educational Topics Covered:

Educators will address several topics including carb counting and portion control, preventing diabetes-related medical complications, new diabetes technologies, the importance of exercise, and also a more light-hearted, humorous perspective about diabetes management.

All attendees will receive a coupon for a free OneTouch glucometer. No registration is necessary. Around 700 people attended the Expo in 2007.Last year over 350 people attended the event over Memorial Day weekend.Moving the event from the holiday, organizers are anticipating meeting or exceeding the attendance form 2007. Other sponsors of the event include Lifescan, First Presbyterian Church of Yakima, Pepsi, NovoNordisk, Yakima Area Diabetes Educators, and Center for Diabetes Prevention and Control at Memorial.

Washington’s WithinReach program will honor Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Children’s Village (Trustee Partners: Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinics, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, EPIC and The Memorial Foundation), and Yakima Neighborhood Health Services, as recipients of the 2009 WithinReach Partnership Award. The award will be presented at a May 19th award luncheon at the Seattle Sheraton. WithinReach, formerly known as Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, offers the award to community partners that demonstrate a continuous commitment to improving the health of all families in Washington, through strong community partnerships.

“It has been wonderful working with these great Yakima partners to improve the health of families in the greater Yakima area,” said Patty Hayes Executive Director of WithinReach, “The leadership and spirit of community that each organization brings to the table is a model for the state”

WithinReach is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure optimal health for all families in Washington by connecting them to the programs, resources, and information they need to build healthy families. The organization collects information regarding available resources and disseminates the information via their website, ParentHelp123.org, and state-wide telephone hotlines, as well as through other valuable programs.

“We are honored that the WithinReach Organization has selected Children’s Village for this award,” says Diane Patterson, Director of Children’s Village. “At Children’s Village, we believe it is our role in the community to act as a conduit, connecting people with the resources they need to keep their families healthy. WithinReach helps provide us the tools to make those connections.”

Both Children’s Village and Memorial Hospital partnered with WithinReach to host focus groups with Yakima area parents and social service providers to aid in the development of new features on ParentHelp123.org, including the professional version, which is scheduled for release later this year. Currently, the site offers patients information regarding free or low-cost health insurance, food resources, immunization information, breastfeeding support, family planning services, parenting support, child development screening services, and many other social and health programs. The new professional version will implement resources aimed at better supporting area hospitals and clinics.

“WithinReach is a valuable resource to our community,” says Gail Weaver, Memorial’s Vice President of Continuum of Care. “We look forward to working with the organization to develop new ideas and continue improving this resource, not only for our community, but for both patients and professionals across the state.”

The award luncheon will take place at the Seattle Sheraton, 1400 6th Ave in Seattle on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 from 12-1:30 p.m.

North Star Lodge dietitians become Board-Certified in Oncology Nutrition

Two dietitians at Memorial’s North Star Lodge Cancer Center have achieved Board Certification as specialists in Oncology Nutrition. They are two of only eight specialists in the state of Washington to have this qualification. Dietary Specialists Lena Gill and Carli Hill successfully met the rigorous specialty practice requirements and passed a nationally administered examination from the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency for the American Dietitian Association (ADA).

“Nutrition plays a critical role in the fight against cancer,” says Mary Marsh, Director of North Star Lodge. “Eating the right kinds of foods before, during, and after treatment can help patients feel better and stay stronger. We are fortunate to have Lena and Carli, with their knowledge and expertise of oncology nutrition, treating our patients here at North Start Lodge.”

Gill has been at North Star Lodge for almost four years and has worked in nutrition for 10 years. Hill has been at North Star and worked in nutrition for almost three years. For many patients, the side effects of cancer and cancer treatments make it difficult to eat well. Appetite, taste, smell, and the ability to eat enough food or absorb the nutrients from food may be affected. Dietitians specializing in Oncology Nutrition can develop nutrition therapies to help cancer patients get the nutrients needed to maintain body weight and strength, prevent body tissue from breaking down, rebuild tissue, and help fight infection. According to the National Cancer Institute, being well-nourished has been linked to a better prognosis (chance of recovery) in cancer patients.

Both Gill and Hill see patients at North Star on a referral basis as well as for nutrition risk screenings.

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in partnership with Fiesta Foods of Yakima, Univision and Yakima’s healthcare community are inviting families to attend the second annual Fiesta de Salud- Health Fair, at Fiesta Foods (1008 East Nob Hill Blvd., Yakima) Saturday, June 6, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The purpose of Fiesta de Salud is to provide health care resources, medical screenings and other health care information to the public in a fun, pressure-free environment. Please call 574-5956 for more information.